Argentina's Milei closes agencies for roads, road safety

BUENOS AIRES

Argentine President Javier Milei's government has announced fresh cuts to public spending, one day before the expiration of special powers granted by Congress.

State agencies in charge of roads and highways will be shuttered to make way for a new entity created to oversee private road construction, government spokesman Manuel Adorni said, without specifying if layoffs would ensue.

The government "will open bidding for 9,120 kilometers of roads," Adorni said.

The measures were announced one day before special powers Congress granted Milei for one year are set to expire.

The administration has said it will not seek an extension of those powers, which enabled the executive branch of government to take actions usually reserved for Congress.

Some 65 measures enacted during this period "represent savings of $2 billion annually," the spokesman said.

Milei, a self-declared "anarcho-capitalist," came to power in December 2023 wielding a chainsaw as a symbol of his plan to restore fiscal discipline and rein in inflation.

He has since slashed public spending, yanked subsidies, halted public works and dismissed tens of thousands of public employees.

Last year, Argentina recorded its first budget surplus in a decade, and monthly inflation reached its lowest rate in five years at 1.5 percent in May.

But the collateral damage has been a loss of purchasing power, jobs, and consumer spending.

For months, Aregentine citizens bearing the brunt of the cuts have mounted a weekly march on Wednesdays to protest the austerity measures, amid a heavy security presence.